Decorated Tuskegee fighter pilot from Queens dies at 100

Retired Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr., credited with taking down 3 Nazi planes successful 1 combat portion flying with the Tuskegee Airmen, has died astatine property 100.

Born connected July 4, 1924 successful Virginia, Stewart developed his emotion for planes aft moving to Queens, adjacent what is present LaGuardia Airport.

Stewart’s bequest includes being among the archetypal subject pilots to win the Air Force “Top Gun” contest successful 1949, erstwhile his Black 332nd Fighter Group defied the likelihood by defeating teams of achromatic pilots successful a contention adjacent Las Vegas.

He spoke astir his roadworthy to becoming a World War II leader during a 2024 Veterans Breakfast Club podcast. That included hanging astir what was past called North Beach Airport and imagining himself successful a cockpit.

“I utilized to locomotion implicit to the airdrome arsenic a kid and bent retired adjacent the obstruction determination and ticker the planes instrumentality disconnected and onshore and fantasize astir my being the aviator of that craft flying radical to antithetic places,” helium recalled.

He aboriginal enjoyed going to spot the P-39 Airacobras stationed successful Queens soon earlier World War II began.

“I took a large involvement successful that and utilized to spell down, anticipation I could spot 1 of them instrumentality disconnected oregon onshore oregon thing similar that due to the fact that they were considerably faster than astir of the transport planes that were flying retired of LaGuardia astatine the time,” helium said.

Tuskegee Airman, Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. celebrates his 100th day astatine the Coleman A. Young International Airport connected July 4, 2024 successful Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Monica Morgan/Getty Images)

Stewart said helium overcame polio and a bosom occupation earlier joining the Army Air Corps successful 1943 and grooming to alert with astir 900 different Black airmen successful Tuskegee, Ala. He recalled being 1 of 355 Tuskegee pilots assigned to alert overseas and enactment successful combat during the war.

His shining infinitesimal came connected Easter Day 1945 implicit Germany erstwhile his squadron was attacked by Nazi combatant planes portion connected an escort mission.

According to subject tract Task & Purpose, Stewart changeable down 2 of those attackers and outmaneuvered a 3rd plane, which got down him, but crashed portion trying to lucifer his navigation skills during a dive maneuver. Three of the 8 planes with his radical were mislaid successful that battle.

President George W. Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Tuskegee Airmen Col. Charles McGee, Col. Harry Stewart, Col. Lee Archer and Dr. Roscoe Brown enactment successful a ceremonial awarding the World War II aerial radical the Congressional Gold Medal successful the Rotunda of the Capitol March 29, 2007 successful Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Stewart reportedly completed 43 missions with his “Red Tails” squadron and was decorated with a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. He joked with the Veterans Breakfast Club that portion flying implicit Europe astatine property 19, helium inactive didn’t cognize however to thrust a car.

“That was due to the fact that I was from New York City and, you know, we had the accelerated modulation system,” helium said. “A car was astir prohibited due to the fact that of the postulation and that benignant of thing.”

Stewart died astatine his location successful Michigan connected Sunday.